Surveying Spectrum: The power of unanimity

Unison movement is one of the most deeply satisfying creative strategies in all of dance, connecting performers to something greater than themselves and audiences to impulses underpinning the most ancient and profound societal rituals.

The 16th installment of “Spectrum: Dance in L.A.,” at the Ivar Theatre on Saturday, provided a coincidental survey of the technical and expressive possibilities of unison, with most of the 14 companies and pieces on view focused on nothing else.

In Janell Burgess’ dramatic sextet, “Unencoded,” isolated, unhappy individuals and couples gained a sense of purpose and communal power through synchronous action. Unison movement also represented social solidarity in Deborah Brockus’ pithy women’s jazz sextet, “Revolution.”

However, in Carla Lubow’s sci-fi showpiece, “Erector,” synchronicity depicted the mechanical conformity of a robot world, though her whimsical opening duet (dancers dressed as giant Slinkys) proved that dehumanization has its charms.

Locking four flamenco dancers of different physiques and temperaments into rigid unisons, on the other hand, made Sarita Parra’s “Nueva Luz” look forced and constricted. Parra seemed merely to take unremarkable solo choreography and double or multiply it, as did three well-danced duets that also sometimes added mirror or canon variants: Robin Kish’s “Spirited,” Denise Leitner’s “Anna” and Natasha Middleton’s “The Conversation.”

The evening’s prize for structuralism would have to go to Anna Djanbazian’s “Devotee.” This women’s quartet not only explored every unison gambit in the book (including having a single dancer enhance group synchrony by defying it) but deftly alternated ballet steps with walks and poses suggesting the classical dances of India.

Spectrum highlights with no unisons included Amy Santo’s loose-limbed postmodern solo a la Trisha Brown, “End/Begin”; Leonard Crofoot and Robin Palanker’s imaginative collage of physical eccentricity, “Gak” (danced by Crofoot); and Jesse Abrescy’s hip-hop and stick-fighting men’s quartet, “Armor.”

In addition, Michael Mizerany and Carol Guidry offered a far more intense performance of Mizerany’s fear-of-sex duet, “The Box,” than the one performed by others at the Ford Amphitheatre a month ago.

Completing the program were two energetic, empty-headed pop ensembles: Esteban Coronado’s “Latin Medley” and “La Salsa,” which was credited to its performers.